Association between Personality Traits and the Effectiveness of Balint Training among Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: Promoting communication and empathy skills is an important component of medical students' education. Recently, a technique called Balint training has been introduced in several medical schools to foster the nonclinical aspects of physician-patient interaction. Aim: We aim to explore whether personality traits help explain the medical students who were more satisfied with Balint training. In particular, whether students who are more open to experience and more agreeable are more likely to be satisfied with Balint training. Method: Balint groups have been introduced as part of the medical school curriculum in the 4th year as part of their clinical training. Students participated in five monthly Balint meetings in groups of 8 -10 students led by two medical staff facilitators. At the end of the program, questionnaires were delivered to all students. Results: A total of 65 participants (36% of the population) who completed all sessions, answered the questionnaires. Findings showed a positive correlation between the personality traits openness to experience and agreeableness to the level of satisfaction in participating in Balint group sessions. Discussion: Our findings contribute to the advancement of more effective planning and design of Balint groups in medical education. To maximize the educational benefit of students' participation in Balint training, their personality traits should be taken into consideration.